3*^' 



* 1. 1., No. 5. 
Issued Monthly. 



NOVEMBER, tv*95. 



$i jO P^r ret . 
Price, 10 Cents. 





Class 
Book 



QJlLLfLJf 




Copyright N°. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



JBacfcoammon. 

A GLANCE INTO THE EARLY HISTORY AND DESCRIPTIONS OF 

THE PASTIME, IN ITS VARIED AND PRIMITIVE 

EORMS, AND A TREATISE UE THE 

GAME AS IT IS PLAYED 

TO-DAY. t 

BY 

A, HOWARD CADY. 

BLACK. 

Black's Inner Table. Black's Outer Table. 








White's Inner Table. White's Outer Table. 

WHITE. 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PUBLISHED BY THE * 

AMERICAN SPORTS PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

241 BROADWAY, NEW \OKK. 



If. 

, J3 2. 



ENTFRED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONRESS, IN THE YEAR 1895, BY 

The American Sports Publishing Co., 

IN THE 5FFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON. 



o 






PREFACE. 



That "there is nothing new under the sun" is evidenced in 
innumerable ways, and seems to be a more and more generally- 
accepted fact, as each new epoch — I had almost said day — 
brings to our notice some time-worn subject decked out in 
fresh garb, but bearing, all the same, the mystical imprint of 
past ages. 

The new dress is not put on with the intent, much less effort, 
to deceive us, but rather, let us assume, to revive our interest 
in what we have become wonted to regard as hackneyed and 
dull: hence, of no importance in this age of rushing progress. 

Among the good old things which, according to tradition 
and history, have existed almost since the world began is back- 



gammon. 



Of this famous pastime may be truly said: 

"Age cannot wither, nor custom stale 
Its infinite variety.'" 

From the period of its invention, which many authors have 
tried to trace back to the dark ages, it has held sway over 
myriads of people of all nations and through different centur- 
ies, who have known it in its various and primitive stages, until 
this present day, when, also, it is very generally played by its 
modern votaries. 

In tins little volume it will be impossible to discourse at 
length upon the numerous phases of the game as it first came 
into existence, much less to explain just through what course 
of evolution it attained its present status, for that seems to be 
beyond human ken. 

I shall try simply to give a brief synopsis of the origin and 
progressive stages of this very fascinating pastime in its primi- 



4 PRE*a€|£. 

tive state, which, I trust, will interest the reader sufficiently to 
arouse in him a desire for further investigation of the subject, 
and also give the necessary treatise on the modern game. 

Backgammon is so essentially a household game that it needs 
neither introduction nor special recommendation, it seems to 
me, beyond the suggestion to those who do not already know it, 
to learn, and add it to their list of pleasant and instructive 
diversions without delay. 

Special thanks are due Messrs. Lane, Tylor and Morgan, 
whose various works on backgammon among the Egyptians, 
Aztecs and Iroquois, have afforded me genuine pleasure in 
their perusal, and furnished data of intrinsic value, as also to 
the editor of the "Hand Book of Games," Messrs. Berkeley, 
Cavendish and others, whose admirable treatises and practical 
guides to the modern game shave been of great assistance in 
this condensed compilation of instruction and information. 

This game has ever been associated with the educated 
classes, differing in that degree from " whist," which had its 
day in the servants' hall, and was, at one period, tabooed in 
higher circles. 

In this day of "leveling the masses," we may venture to 
think the game will appeal to all intelligent people, and, further, 
trust that no class distinction will interfere to prevent its 
becoming popular with the world at large, and, finally, that 
this little book will make its way into every house, and thus 
add one more to the attractions of home. A. H. C. 

New York, Nov., 1895. 



k. 



BACKGAMMON. 



PART I. 

IN ITS VARIED AND PRIMITIVE STAGES. 

" Man's life's a game of tables, and he may 
Mend his bad fortune by his wiser play." 

Of the innummerable drawing-room games in vogue, perhaps 
none has a more mystifying, not to say bewildering, beginning 
than backgammon. 

There are so many conflicting accounts regarding its origin, 
and the probable period, as well as place, of its invention, 
that, almost in despair of arriving at the real facts, one is 
tempted, at times, to give up the study, as each fresh research 
but leads deeper into the mazes of antiquity. 

Among these various theories is one which presents itself as 
a plausible suggestion of the invention of the game. It is 
that draughts (or checkers) were originally counters, such as 
little stones, for instance, which were moved about on a calcu- 
lation board to reckon up the throws, and that it was an after- 
thought to permit skill to take the place of moves. 

Certain it is that the classic draughts were described always 
as a stone {calx or calculus'). 

In Germany to-day, though now made of wood, their original 
term stein (stone) is retained. The playing board, too, on 
which the stones were shifted, shares the name of calculating 
board — abacus. 

There is a certain fascination about an investigation of this 
kind which increases with every new phase of the subject 
brought to one's notice. One is almost in danger of forgetting, 
or, at least, slighting the modern game, as the various char- 



6 BACKGAMMON. 

acteristics of the ancient or, more properly speaking, original 
pastime, in its primitive form, holds fast the interest and 
attention of the student. 

Of course, with numerous other games of that period, the 
invention of backgammon has been ascribed to Palamedes, of 
Greece (about 1224, B. C). There does not appear to be any 
special proof, however, that he had anything to do with its 
origin. 

It is difficult to ascertain just what kind of backgammon 
the Greeks played in the earlier ages; but from different writ- 
ings we gather that often, when they speak of dice playing, 
they do not mean simply hazard, but a species rather of the 
first-named game, where the throws of the dice are used to 
direct certain and skilful moves of the pieces. 

The manner of playing the men in classic backgammon can 
be inferred from a Greek epigram of the fifth century, which 
commemorates a wonderful hit in which Emperor Zeno got his 
pieces so blocked that, having the bad fortune to throw 2, 5, 6 
(at that period they used three dice, as, indeed, they continued 
to do also in England in the middle ages), the only move which 
remained open, forced him to leave eight blots. 

In his ** Jenx des Anciens," Becque de Fouquieres works out 
this historic problem, as also other matters' of Greek and Latin 
backgammon, in a truly skilful manner. 

Plato says: "As in casting dice, so ought we to arrange our 
affairs according to the throws we get, as reason shall declare 
best," while Plutarch, also moralizing on the subject, observes 
"that Plato compares life to dicing, where one must not only 
get good throws, but know how to use them skilfuly, when 
obtained." 

Persian backgammon, which they called Nard, is said to 
bear a strong resemblance to the European form of the game, 
and there are those who claim even that it came from there in 
the first place. 

This game is very popular through the East, and "Orthodox 
Moslems," we hear, "have seen in the fateful throws of the 



BACKGAMMON. 7 

dice a recognition of the decrees of Alla,h — that fall sometimes 
for a man and sometimes against him.' 

Indeed, has it not been asserted by one that: "This is a 
nobler game than chess, for the backgammon player acknowl- 
edges predestination and the divine will, but the chess player 
denies them like a dissenter! " 

In Rome, among the Christian antiquities, there is a marble 
slab, on which is cut a backgammon board, with a Greek cross 
in the middle, and in the Greek tongue an inscription to the effect 
''that Jesus Christ gives victory and help to dicers if they 
write his name. when they throw the dice, Amen." 

Although roughly traced, as if by the untutored hand of some 
stonecutter, it, nevertheless, shows that the board was similar 
to the one now used, even to the division in the centre, separat- 
ing the two groups of six points on either side. 

It is from Rome of ancient days, too, that we receive or, 
better speaking, inherit the custom of making the double 
board — the backgammon on one side and the draughtsboard on 
the other. At least, good authority informs us that it was thus 
the commentators interpreted Martial's epigram on the tabula 
litsoria. Here it is: 

14 Hie mihi seno numeratur tessera punto 
• Calculus hie gemino discolor hosti perit." 

Here twice the dice is counted to the point, 

Here 'twixt twin foes of other hue the draughtsman dies. 

Certainly facts seem to point to the supposition that fhe game, 
as we know it by the English nomenclature of backgammon, 
and the more complicated French variation called Trictrac, 
Comes from the Roman pastime of "twelve lines" (duodecima 
scripta), which was played throughout the empire, and of which 
Ovid said: "It has lines as many as the gliding year has 
months." • 

From Rome the game spread over Europe; its Latin name, 
tabula, easily transformed into English and French tables. 
Chaucer confirms this, when he tells us that the early name of 



8 BACKGAMMON. 

backgammon was tables, at which period it was played with 
three dice, and all the " men " began their action in the advers- 
ary's table. The title of "tables" dropped out of use in the 
Elizabethan era. 

Just how it came by its present name is, and always will be, 
a disputed point. "La maison de Jeux Academiques " has 
abandoned the settlement of this question as a hopeless task, 
while De Henry tries to meet it by claiming its name as a 
Welsh compound — from back (little) and cammon (battle). 

Strutt and Bishop Kennett on their sides, however, furnish 
deductions to seemingly prove its derivation from the Anglo- 
Saxon "bac " (back) and "gamone" a game — i. e., "a game 
where players are expected to be sent back." 

The backgammon games, of which there seem to be so many 
varieties, may, for convenience sake, be divided into two 
groups — lot backgammon and dice backgammon — one of which 
is played with two-faced lots, which can only fall in two ways — 
i. c, "heads or tails," and the other with numbered dice. 

It seems to be very generally assumed that lot backgammon 
came first, and was followed by dice backgammon, which is 
the European variety, and the one best known to-day. 

In classic history, we find many plain indications of back- 
gammon, and the ancient Greek pastime called Ktibeia, or 
" dice-playing," is proven by numerous classical passages to 
have been of this same family. 

In Palestine and Egypt a species of backgammon called Tab 
is played. 

Writing of the "modern Egyptians," Edward W. Lane dis- 
cusses at some length the various games played by them, and 
which he thinks especially suited to their " sedate dispositions." 

He tells us, for instance, that they enjoy greatly Satreng 
(known to us by the more familiar name of chess), dameh 1 
(draughts), and TawulaJi (backgammon or trictrac). 

Tab, alluded to above, and which is the variety most exten- 
sively played among the lower orders in Egypt, may be classed 
under the head of lot backgammon. Incidentally, it may be 



BACKGAMMON. 9 

mentioned that this is known in other parts of the East as 
"Tabwa-dukk" an elaborate nomenclature which Mr. Lane 
says he never heard applied to it in Egypt. 

For the tab variation of the game, four small pieces of stick, 
of a flat form about 8 inches in length and two-thirds of an inch 
in width, are first prepared. Usually, they are made of bits of 
palm branch, one side of which, cut flat and smooth, is white, 
the other green, or, when not fresh, yellow in tint; the first 
side is called white and the other black, by way of distinguish- 
ing them. They are called tab. The seega, upon which the 
game is played, is a board, divided into four rows of squares, 
called "beyts" or " dars/' each about 2 inches in width. 

Sometimes the board, or seega, consists of similar rows of 
holes made in the ground, or on a flat stone. These beyts are 
generally 7, 9, II, 13 °r 15 in each row. 



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The above illustration shows a seega of nine beyts in each 
row, distinguishing the beyts by letters; one side the capital, 
and the other side, or opponent's, the small letters. 

The arrangement of the pieces is described as follows: " In 
each beyt of one exterior row is usually placed a little piece of 
stone or of dingy brick about the size of a walnut, and in each 
beyt of the other exterior row a piece of red brick or tile, or 
sometimes pieces are placed only in a certain number of beyts 
in those rows, as, for instance, in the first four. The pieces of 
one row must be distinguished from those of the other. 



10 BACKGAMMON. 

These pieces are called " kilah" (dog); in the singular, kelli. 

The throwing of lots (tab), of course, and not dice, regulates 
the moving of the men. They (the tab) are thrown against a 
stick set up in the ground, and the throw counted according 
to the number of white sides which come up. For example: 

01234 
White up ... None. One. Two. Three. Four. 

61234 
Count . . (Go on.) (Tab.) (Stop.) (Stop.) (Go on.) 

" There is evidently a crude attempt," says Mr. Taylor, "to 
reckon probabilities, giving a higher value to less frequent 
throws of all four whites and all four blacks than to two or three 
white, which come oftener. Beside the high count, they have 
the privilege of a second throw." 

Incidentally, this latter fact is worthy of notice, as it 
would seem to indicate that if, as seems generally admitted, lot 
backgammon came first and was followed by dice backgammon, 
that the former has given to the latter the rule allowing 
doublets another throw. 

The throw of one white, called tab (child) — i. e., game, has 
a peculiar power, for by it only can a kelb (dog) — i. e. y stone or 
draught, be moved from its original position in the outer row 
and put at liberty to circulate in the beyts. The ke/bs, before 
the removal from the original spot, are called Nasara 
(Christians); Nasaranee, singular; but after this, when, as one 
writer quaintly expresses it, they "go forth conquering and to 
conquer, " they are called Muslimeen (Moslems.) 

According to Dr. Birch, no Egyptian dice have been dis- 
covered earlier than the Roman era, nor any distinct allusion 
either to backgammon. Therefore this game cannot prove a 
claim to a place in the list of early Egyptian inventions; hence 
the nearest relation to tab is probably Chinese backgammon, 
though this latter is played with dice. 

From Sanskrit literature we learn that games similar to back- 
gammon were known in ancient India. Among them mention 
is made of Panchiko^ played with cowrie shells, and in which 



BACKGAMMON. 



II 



it appears the winning throws were when all mouths came up 
or down, as against the common throw, in which some fell each 
way. Another game on the same order was also known there 
which, according to the researches of Professor Weber, was 
called Ayanaja (luck or unluck). At least, that was the expres- 
sion used in regard to the moving of the pieces which traveled 
right and left through the squares, taking an unprotected man 
from his place to begin his course anew. 

To-day a species of backgammon known as Pachisi is 
extremely popular in India. It can be played by two, three or 
four persons, or by two pairs, the partners sitting opposite to 
each other. 

A cloth, with colored diagram, is most generally used as the 
board, the zealous players, indeed, often carrying one rolled 
round their turbans. 







X 






































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12 BACKGAMMON. 

As seen from foregoing diagram, each of these four arms has 
twenty-four squares, of which the three crosses on them are 
called chik (forts). 

The pieces played with are generally of turned wood or 
ivory, resembling in shape the rifle bullet of the present day. 
They are in sets of four, each of the players having one, all of 
one color respectively, such as red, green, yellow or black. 

The moves of the men are determined by the throw of the 
cowrie shells, which count according to the number that fall 
mouths upward. 

The scoring resembles that of tab, and, when six cowries are 
used, counts as follows: 

Mouths up None, one, two, three, four, five, six. 

6 10 234 25 12 



-> 



Men round first . . (Go on.) (Stop.) (Go on.) 

Mr. Taylor states that, after careful research into the San- 
scrit reference's and consultation with Professor Jolloy, of 
Wurzburg, he is inclined to think that the game Panchika 
already alluded to, and which is played with fine cowrie shells, 
represents one of the earliest forms of Pachisi, which signifies 
11 five and twenty," derived, of course, from the fine cowries. 
Both, as played with cowries and dice, games of the Pachisi 
school are ancient in India. 

A comparison of this Hindoo game of Pachisi displays close 
connection with Arab Tab. Still another game played in India, 
and, like Pachisi, is called Chupua; in this variation the cow- 
ries being superseded by a kind of oblong dice, numbered on 
the four sides, but not at the ends. 

The Indian Pachisi board has been introduced into England, 
with four sets of four small draughts as the pieces and the ordi- 
nary dice. In this form it most closely resembles English 
backgammon. 

From India to Madrid is a long journey, but in the tour of 
search an interesting one. 

In his charming paper on backgammon among the Aztecs, 



BACKGAMMON. 



13 



Mr. Taylor gives a very interesting account of the game in 
its primitive state in ancient Mexico, and from this we may 
venture to cull a few items. 

Long before Hernando Cortis landed with his army of Span- 
ish invaders at Vera Cruz, we are told, one variety of back- 
gammon had already found its way from Asia into Mexico, and 
had become a very fashionable amusement at the babaric court 
of Matizuma. 

Among the various accounts of this Mexican game, known 
there as Patolli, given by the Spanish chroniclers, the earliest 
maybe found in Francisco Lopez de Gomara's work — "La 
istoria de las Indias y conquista de Mexico." As this was 
printed in 1552, it is easy to surmise that it must have been 
written while the conquest of 1551 was still fresh in his mind. 

Gomara expresses himself thus: "Sometimes Montezuma 
looked on as they played Patolli, which much resembles the 
game of tables. It is played with beans, marked like one-face 
dice, which they call Patolli. They take them between the 
hands and throw on a mat or table, or on the ground, where 
there are certain lines like a merrel (or a draughts-board), on 
which they mark like stones the point which fell up, taking off 
and putting on a little stone. 



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PATOLLI IN ANCIENT MEXICO. 

In his " Monarchia Indiana" (1616) Juan de Torquemada, 
in part following this account, gives even more details, show- 
ing the diagram which he describes to have been of the shape 
of the Pachisi board, and the pieces of different colors. 



14 



BACKGAMMON. 



He says of it: "They call it Patolli, because these dice are 
called so; they throw with both hands on a thin mat . . . 
on which are made certain lines after the maner of a cross, -L 
and others crossing them make the point falling up (as in dice), 
taking off or putting on little stones of different colors, as in 
the game of tables." 

In his " Historia Universal de las cosas de Nuova Espana " 







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PATOLLI BOARD AS DESCRIBED BY TORQUEMADA. 
SAHAGAN AND OTHERS. 

Fr. Bernadino de Sahagan gives also a quaint description of the 
game, explaining as well why it had ceased to be played some 
time after the conquest, as follows: 

"The lords for this pleasure also played a game called 
Patolli, which is as the game of merello (or draughts), or the 



BACKGAMMON*. i5 

like, or dice-playing, and there are four large beans, each hav- 
ing a hole, and they throw them with the hands, as one plays 
at knucklebones, on a mat, where there is a figure drawn. At this 
game they used to play to win precious things, such as gold beads 
and precious stones, very fine turquoises. This game and that of 
ball they left off, being suspicious, on account of some 
idolatrous superstition in them." In another place, he further 
says: " The second pastime was a game like dice; they made 
on a mat a pointed cross, full of squares, like the game of 
draughts, and, sitting down on the mat, they took three large 
beans, with certain points made in them, and let fall on the 
pointed cross. 

To those interested in further research of this pastime, 
delightful and, withal, exhaustive accounts, will be found in 
old tomes, among which are especially recommended: Dalgo 
Duran's "Hist Indias," Clavigero's " Storia Antica del Mex- 
ico' 1 Brasseur de Bourbourg's " Histoire du Mexique et de 
i'Amerique Centrale," Father Joseph Ochs' " Nachrichten von 
Landern des Spanischen Amerika." 

Summing up the descriptions of the various pastimes which 
are classified as species of the game, in its primitive form, it is 
evident that lot backgammon, as shown by 7 ab, Pachisi and 
kindred diversions, spread over the Old World from Egypt, 
across Southern Asia to Birma; and, as Patolli of the Mexicans 
is a variety of lot backgammon, most closely resembling 
Pachisi, and, possibly like this latter, passing into the variety 
known as dice backgammon, its existence would seem to prove 
that it had come across from Asia in the first place. Therefore 
it can be numbered among the elements of Asiatic culture 
which are easily traceable in ancient Mexican civilization. 
This, with the development in metal work, architecture, 
astronomy, as well as political and religious institutions, seem 
all to point to Asiatic influence. 

From Patolli, or Patole, as the Egytians called it, we turn 
instinctively to the Indian variety of the game, which may 
be classified as another primitive form of backgammon with 



16 BACKGAMMON. 

which Mr L. H. Morgan, in his " League of the Iroquois" and 

other writers have made us so familiar. 

Of the pastimes which may be considered one of the national 
games of the Iroquois race there appear to be two varieties: 
Gus-ga-e-sa-ta, or deer buttons, and Gus-ka-eh, played with a 
bowl and peach stones. 

The former was strictly a fireside game, while the latter was 
played in the public council house by a succession of players, 
two at a time, and under the supervision of managers appointed 
to represent the contending parties and watch the contest. 

Gus-ga-e-sa-ta may be briefly described as being played with 
eight buttons, about an inch in diameter each, made of elk 
horn, and shaped like a double convex tens. They were 
rounded and polished, and, furthermore, slightly burned on 
one side to blacken them-. A certain number of beans, fifty 
perhaps, were made the capital, and the game continued until 
one of the players had won them all. All the players remained 
in their seats until it was determined. 

The introduction of Gus-ka-eh among the Iroquois is ascribed 
to the Ta-do-da-ho, who flourished at the time of the formation 
of the League; and, we are told, a popular belief prevailed that 
the game would be enjoyed by them in a future life, "in the 
realm of the Great Spirit." 

It was with them essentially a betting game, in which the 
players were divided by tribes. 

Through established custom of long standing, it was intro- 
duced always as the final exercises on the celebration of the 
Green Corn, the Harvest festivities and the New Year's jubilee. 

The implements of the game are described as follows : A 
dish about a foot in diameter at the base and carved out of a 
knot of wood or made of earth. The peach stones were then 
ground or cut down into an oval form, reducing them in the 
process about half in size, after which the heart of the pit was 
removed and the stones themselves burned on one side to 
blacken then. 

The accompanying illustration shows the bowl and peaclj 



BACKGAMMON. 



17 




GA-JIH, OR BOWL. 




GUS-KA-EH 



l8 6ACKGAMM0N, 

stones, the latter in various positions, thus displaying the de- 
grees of their convexity. 

A platform erected a few feet from the ground was covered 
with blankets. After the betting was closed — that sounds 
quite modern ! — and the articles had been given into the 
custody of the managers, they seated themselves on this plat- 
form, surrounded by a crowd of spectators, while the players, 
two in number, sat down to t«he game between the two divisions 
into which they arranged themselves. 

The game was extremely simple, depending on the dexterity 
of the player in a measure, though really more on luck. 

The blackened peach stones were shaken in the bowl by the 
player, the count depending upon the number which came up 
of one color after they had ceased rolling in the dish. 

The length of the game depended, to a certain extent, upon 
the number of beans which made the bank — as a rule, this was 
ioo — the victory being gained by the side which, in the end, 
won them all. According to the laws of the game, each player 
was permitted to retain his seat until he had lost his outfit — 
i. e., the number of beans, usually five, which were given to 
each to begin with, after which he was obliged to surrender 
it to another player on his side, and chosen by the managers of 
his party. 

Thus the game proceeded, sometimes even, when begun 
about the meridian, taking another day to finish. 

14 It was necessarily a long game by its constitution," Mr. 
Morgan explains, "as it was so carefully guarded against the 
extreme fickleness of most games of chance." 

It is not necessary to enter into the details of the mode of 
playing it, or the peculiarities and varieties of this pastime, 
which bears»certain and marked characteristics suggestive of 
the modern and developed game of backgammon to which we 
may now turn. 



PART II. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME AND GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS HC\\ 

TO PLAY IT. 

Of the recognized varieties of the game which prevail to-day, 
three exist of a most interesting character, all of which, of 
course, are played with dice and are called respectively, Eng- 
lish, Russian or Trie Trac and Turkish Backgammon. 



ENGLISH BACKGAMMON. 

To those unfamiliar with the game, a description of the im- 
plements used therein is, perhaps, the first essential, as to 
thoroughly understand it one must know what these are. 

THE IMPLEMENTS. 

The backgammon table is, as is very generally known, the 
interior of the draughts (or checker) board. In form it is 
square, usually made of leather, the borders of the same 
slightly raised, and which, in fact, make the sides to the box 
holding the draughts, while through the middle, where it is 
divided, is a raised bar separating it into two tables, known as 
the inner (or home) and outer tables. 

These are marked with twenty-four points or fleches, colored 
alternately black or white — or, as in the modern backgammon 
board, red and black — six points in each section. The points 
are sufficient in length to hold five pieces — or "men" — each, 
the last one covering the end of the same. 

These points are named as follows : That to extreme left in 
white's inner (or home) table, is called white's ace point ; the 
next, white's deuce point, and the others in turn trois, quatre, 
cinque and six points. 



20 



BACKGAMMON. 



The ace point in white's outer table (No. 7), is called his bar 
point, and the remaining five, deuce, trots quatre y cinque and 
six, in their respective order. 

The points in the opposite tables are named in the same way 
for black. 

The pieces or " men " are the same as those used for draughts, 
save, that instead of twelve, fifteen of each color are required. 

BLACK. 

Black's Home, or Inner Table. Black's Outer Table. 



12 3 4 5 



12 3 4 5 6 





7 8 9 10 11 12 



7 6 9 10 II 12 



Red's Home, or Inner Table. 



Red's Outer Table. 



RED. 



It is customary to play toward the light; that is, make the 
home (or inner) table the one nearest the window or lamp, as 
the hour of the day demands. 

The pieces can be reversed, making the outer table the inner 



BACKGAMMON. 21 

table or vice versa, as the light may require, although, really, 
this is not compulsory. 

There are two dice boxes, one for each player. They are 
cylindrical in form, and closed at one end, and, as a rule, 
slightly pressed in at the centre. In size, they are about four 
inches long, and one and three-quarter inches across at the 
broadest part. Usually, they, like the board, are of leather. 
The interior of these little cylinders is grooved with concentric 
circles. 

There are two dice only — called a pair — which are used by 
both players in turn. They are made of ivory and marked with 
a number on each face, from one to six, and so placed that the 
dots on the opposite sides, when added together, make seven. 

The numbers are named in this wise : Ace, Deuce, Trois, or 
Trey (doublets, Treys), Quatre, Cinque, and Six, or size 
(doublets, sizes). 

THE TECHNICAL TERMS. 

Bar — The line which divides the box. 

Bar-point — The point next the bar. 

Blot — A single piece — or "man " — on a point. 

Backgammon — Winning the entire game. 

Bearing the Men — Taking them off the table. 

Doublets — Two dice with the same number of dots, as two 
aces, two deuces, etc. 

Gammon — Two points won out of the three which constitute 
the game. 

Getting Home — Bringing one's men from the adversary's 
tables into one's own. 

Hit — To remove all of one's men before the opponent has 
done so. 

Home — The inner table. 

Making Points — Winning hits. 

Men — The pieces : i. e., checkers or draughts used in the 
game. 

To Enter — To replace a piece in the table after it has been 
excluded through a point (or fleche) being already full. 



22 BACKGAMMON. 

THE GAME. 

The game is played by two persons, occupying opposite posi- 
tions to one another at the board. 

If the home tables are to be on the left, the pieces will be 
played as follows : White will place two men on the oppo- 
nent's ace point, five on his twelfth (or No. 6 outer table), 
three upon his own eighth, and five upon his sixth point. 

Black's pieces will be played in corresponding order directly 
opposite. 

The position of the pieces upon the board at the beginning of 
the game is shown in Diagram No. I. on page 13. 

THROWING. 

Each player then takes a dice box, shaking one die in it, 
with two of his fingers placed across the opening to prevent 
the die falling out. The shaking is followed naturally by the 
die being thrown (cast) somewhere in the centre of the board 
between the two rows of points. The player who has thrown 
the higher number has the first play, it being optional with 
him to adopt the numbers already thrown .or taking up the pair 
of dice and casting again. 

PLAYING. 

A player in throwing the dice should always call out the 
numbers shown on the faces of the same. For instance, if he 
throws a five, two, he says "Cinque, deuce"; or four, three, 
•' Quatre, trey," etc., etc., the higher number being named 
first. 

This step made, the game is begun by his moving any one of 
his men to an unoccupied point, technically known as " open ' 
point, according to the distance indicated by one of the dice, and 
another man to some other point, as shown by the number on the 
second die. If he prefers — this is also optional — he can move 
the first man still further on, as directed by number on second 
die, rather than touch another one. ^his completes the move. 

The game thus started proceeds in the usual manner, the 
players throwing and moving alternately. 



BACKGAMMON. 23 

The object of the game is for the player to move the m<*n 
from point to point, as the successive numbers on the dice 
thrown indicate, and from the opponent's home (or inner table) 
into his outer table, thence into his own outer table, and, 
finally, over the bar into his own home (or inner table). 

This is technically known as " carrying the men." 

It is understood, of course, that both the white and the black 
pieces are moved in the same way — only in opposite directions. 

As previously stated, one piece can be played the whole 
throw — i. e., the number on both of the dice, or one man, one 
of the numbers thrown, and the other man, that on the second 
die. For example: White may move quatre deuce by carrying 
one man from the sixth point in black's outer table to his own 
bar point (No. I of his outer table), or, again, he can play (or 
move) a man from the deuce point of his outer table to his 
quatre point, and the second from his six to his quatre point. 

When the men are played after the latter method, so as to 
occupy a previously blank point, with two men, it is termed 
making a point. 

Should white, on the contrary, play any other of his men in 
.^he same manner, as, for instance, one from his outer table to 
his six point, and any other, four points, the latter will remain 
on a point by himself, and this is termed leaving a blot. 

If two similar numbers are on the face of the dice, they are 
called " doublets," and the player is entitled to double what 
he throws. Example: Aces, four points, instead of two, and 
so on for all the other doublets. Berkeley gives the following 
clear and interesting illustration, which covers, of course, the 
highest throw: 

41 Double sixes entitles the player to 24 points, and may be 
played in any of the following ways: (a), one man, 24 points; 
(b), one man, 18 points, and the other 6 points; (c), one man, 12 
points each; (e), four men, 6 points each, provided he does not 
go beyond his ace point, nor play on any point occupied by his 
adversary, i. £.., a pomt on which there are t\\^> or more men 
belonging to his adversary." 



24 BACKGAMMON, 

If, however, all the points shown by the throw of the dice are 
already covered by the opponent's men, the moves are lost. 
Example : If trey doublets are thrown, and the first third point 
from all the player's men is occupied by two or more of the 
opponent's men, the play is lost, although the six, ninth, and 
twelfth points are uncovered. 

While the first player (whom we will call white by way of 
distinguishing the sides) is moving, the adversary (black) may 
put the dice in his box and shake them, that thus, when the 
first named player has finished his play — or moves — the latter 
may throw, call his throw and play it. 

THE RESTRICTIONS IN PLAYING. 

The only restrictions in playing are : The player cannot play 
(i) beyond his own home table, nor (2) on any point 
already in possession of his adversary, i.e., occupied by two or 
more of the latter's men. 

For instance, if he throws six ace, he cannot play a six from 
his six point, or an ace from his opponent's twelfth point. He 
can, however, play a seven to his six point from the opponent's 
twelfth, because his bar is open, although his twelfth is in pos- 
session of the opponent. 

Any part of a throw which cannot be played is lost*; but the 
player must play the entire throw when he can. For example: 
A player throws trois ace, and the men are so placed that he 
can play either trois or ace points, but not both, therefore he 
must decide which seems preferable and move accordingly ; but 
if, by playing the ace first, he can play the trey afterward, he 
must do so. 

HITTING A BLOT. 

When, as will happen during the progress of a game, one 
man alone is left on a point it is called a blot, and is thus ex- 
posed to the hit of the adversary, who endeavors as a rule to 
do this by leading one of his own men to that point. The man 
hit is removecr immediately and placed on the bar (the divi- 
sion between the boards), and the player to whom it belongs 



BACKGAMMON. 25 

cannot play again until the man is entered. This is accom- 
plished by .the throw of a number which enables him to enter 
the blot on an unoccupied point in the opponent's home 
table and playing it from a point of the board adjoining the 
opponent's ace point. 

Naturally, the man cannot be entered on any point already in 
possession of the opponent. For instance, if the points answering 
to the two numbers thrown are occupied, or if doublets are 
thrown, and the corresponding point is occupied, of course the 
player who has a man " up " cannot enter him. 

As the game draws to an end, and most of the points in the 
adversary's home (or inner) table are covered — that is, 
contain two or more men — it grows difficult to enter; but the 
player has no option in the matter; he must simply wait until 
the right number comes up, or until other points are exposed 
by the opponent having played some of his men up or borne 
them off the table.* 

Two or more blots can be taken up at the same time, or in 
successive throws. " Hitting a blot" often lends zest as well 
as variety to the game. 

It is never compulsory to hit a blot if the throw can be played 
without touching the point on which it rests. Example : A 
player throws quatre deuce, and wishes to play (move) a piece 
two points distant from the blot. If he is able to play the 
quatre first and the deuce afterwards he is not obliged to 
take up the blot. 

BEARING. 

The game proceeds as already described until one of the 
players has carried all his men into his home (or inner) table. 
Directly this is done, he has the privilege of taking his men off 
the board, technically called bearing. 

For every number thrown a man is removed from the corres- 
ponding point, or, if the player prefers, it may be played up • 



* N. B. — When all six points are blocked, it is useless for the player to 
throw, and his adversary, therefore, may continue to nlay until he opens a 
point in his home table. 



26 BACKGAMMON. 

if, however, it is impossible to play up a man, it must be 
"borne." 

Suppose his home table to be made up, and he throws cinque 
deuce, he bears one man from his cinque and one from his 
deuce point ; or, he may, if he prefers it, play a cinque from 
his six-point and a deuce from his six, cinque, quatre or trey 
point ; or, again, he can play one and bear the other. If lie 
cannot play any part of the throw he must bear it — for instance, 
if he has no man on his six or cinque points, he must bear the 
quatre. 

If a number is thrown which is higher than any point on 
which there is a man, then the player must bear a man from 
the highest point occupied. Example : If a six is thrown and 
there is no man on the six point, the player must bear from his 
cinque point, or, if that, too, is unoccupied, from his quatre 
point, or, again, if that also is empty (unoccupied), from his 
trois point, and so on. 

If the player throws cinque ace, and has no man on his 
cinque, he can, if he wishes, play up an ace from his cinque 
point and bear the cinque from his quatre point. If, on the 
contrary, the player throws an ace, and his ace point is un- 
occupied, he may play up the ace. 

Here, as in the earlier stage of the game, doublets entitle the 
player to play up, or bear, four men. 

If, after the player has begun bearing his men, he hits a blot 
he must enter on his adversary's inner table, and he cannot 
bear any more men until this one taken up has been carried in- 
to his own inner table. 

In bearing, should the opponent be waiting to enter any of 
his men which have been hit, care should be taken to leave no 
blot or unprotected point. 

The player who first bears all his men wins a hit, or single 
game, provided, of course, that the adversary has borne off any 
of his men. 

It is a gammon, or double game, when the player has borne 
all his men before his adversary lias borne any. It is a triple 



BACKGAMMON . 27 

or quadruple game (according to previous arrangement or 
agreement between the players), or backgammon, when the 
winner bears his last man before the adversary, not having 
borne any men, has carried all his men out of the winner's 
tables. 

Should a player, having borne a man, be taken up, he can 
only lose a hit, even if he fails to enter the man before the ad- 
versary bears all his. 

When a number of games are being played the winner of a 
hit has the right to the first throw in the new game ; but if a 
gammon or backgammon is won, then the right to first play in 
the succeeding game is decided by the throwing each of a 
single die, etc., as already described. 

TACTICS AND GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS. 

I. At the beginning of a game at backgammon the play- 
er's chief object should be, first, to secure his own or his adver- 
sary's cinque point, or even both ; second, when these points 
are secured, to play a pushing game, and try to gammon the 
opponent. 

II. The next best point, after the cinque point in the home 
table is secured, is the bar-point, thereby preventing the adver- 
sary from running away if he throws double-sixes. 

III. When the player has secured these, he should prefer to 
make a quatre point in his own inner table, rather than quatre 
point out of them. 

IV. Having gained this point, there is a good chance of 
gammoning the adversary, more especially if he is very for- 
ward. To accomplish this, however, it will be necessary to 
vary the game, according to circumstances. Suppose the 
opponent's inner table is very ragged; it will be to the interest 
of the player to open his bar-point in the hope of compelling 
the adversary to run out of this inner table with a six, and 
leave two blots. Then, if his men are properly spread ; i.e., 
not crowded on any one or more points, he cannot only catch 
the man (or piece) the adversary brings out, but also have a 



28 BACKGAMMON. 

good chance of taking up the men left behind. But if the 
adversary has a blot in his inner table, it will then be advisable 
not to make up his own table, etc., but have a blot in it ; and 
if taken up himself, he will have the probability of getting a 
third man, which will return a gammon quite probable. 

V. If not anxious to win more than a hit, the player should 
endeavor to gain his own or the adversary's cinque point ; and 
if he fail in this, through being hit by the opponent, who is 
also more forward than himself, he must play a bold game. 
Thus, place a man on his cinque or bar-point, and if the adver- 
sary fails to hit it, then cover ; i. <?., place another piece on the 
one already there, the blot, himself, and play a forward game 
instead of a back one. 

If, on the contrary, the blot is taken up, a back game must 
be resorted to, and the greater number of blots offered and 
taken up, the better. 

It should be the endeavor of the player in this event to gain 
or hold his opponent's ace and deuce points, or ace and trois 
points, and if possible to keep three men on his ace point, so 
that if he hit a blot from there he still has the ace point 
guarded. 

The best play for every possible throw at the beginning of 
the game, as given by Hoyle, confirmed by Cavendish and 
others, is as follows : 

TABLE No. I. 

1. Two aces are to be played on the cinque point and bar 
point for a gammon or for a hit. 

2. Two sixes to be played on the adversary's bar point and 
on the thrower's bar point for a gammon or for a hit. 

3. Two trois to be played on the cinque point, and the other 
two on the trois point in his own tables, for a gammon only. 

4. Two deuces to be played on the quatre point, in his own 
tables, and two to be brought over from the five men placed in 
the adversary's tables, for a gammon only. 

5. Two quatre to be brought over from the five men placed 



BACKGAMMON. 2$ 

in the adversary's tables, and to be put on the cinque point in his 
own tables for a gammon only. 

6. Two cinque to be brought over from the five men placed 
in the adversary's tables, and to be put on the trois point in his 
own tables, for a gammon or for a hit. 

7. Six ace, he must take his bar-point for a gammon or for a 
hit. 

8. Six deuce, a man to be brought from the five men placed 
in the adversary's tables, and to be placed in the cinque point 
in his own tables, for a gammon or for a hit. 

9. Six and trois, a man to be brought from the adversary's 
ace point, as far as he will go, for a gammon or for a hit. 

10. Six and quatre, a man to be brought from the adver- 
sary's ace point, as far as he will go, for a gammon or for a hit. 

11. Six and cinque, a man to be carried from the adversary's 
ace point, as far as he can go, for a gammon or a hit. 

12. Cinque and quatre, a man to be carried from the adver- 
sary's ace point, as far as he can go, for a gammon or for a hit. 

13. Cinque trois, to make the trois point in his table, for a 
gammon or for a hit. 

14. Cinque deuce, to play two men from the five placed in 
the adversary's tables, for a gammon or for a hit. 

15. Cinque ace, to bring one man from the five placed in the 
adversary's tables for the cinque, and to play one man down on 
the cinque point in his own tables for the ace, for a gammon only. 

16. Quatre trois, two men to be brought from the five placed 
in the adversary's tables, for a gammon or for a hit. 

17. Quatre deuce, to make the quatre point in his own 
tables, for a gammon or for a hit. 

18. Quatre ace, to play a man from the five placed in the ad- 
versary's tables, for the quatre ; and for the ace, to play a man 
down upon the cinque point in his own tables, for a gammon only. 

19. Trois deuce, two men to be brought from the five placed 
in the adversary's tables, for a gammon only. 

20. Trois ace, to make the cinque point in his own tables, 
for a gammon or for a hit. 



$0 BACKGAMMON. 

21. Deuce ace, to play one man from the five men placed in 
the adversary's table, for the deuce ; and for the ace, to play a 
man down upon the cinque point in his own tables. 

22. Deuce trois, two of them to be played on the cinque point 
in his own tables, and with the other two he is to take the 
quatre point in the adversary's tables. 

23. Two deuces, two of them are to be played on the quatre 
point in his own tables, and with the other two he has to take 
the trois point in the adversary's tables. By playing these two 
cases in this manner, the player avoids being shut up in the 
adversary's tables, and has the chance of throwing out the 
tables to win the hit. 

24. Two quatre, two of them are to take the adversary's 
cinque point in the adversary's tables, and for the other two, 
two men are to be brought from the five placed in the ad- 
versary's tables. 

25. Cinque ace, the cinque should be played from the five men 
placed in the adversary's tables, and the ace from the adver- 
sary's ace point. 

26. Quatre ace, the quatre to be played from the five men 
placed in the adversary's ace point. 

27. Deuce ace, the deuce to be played from the five men 
placed in the adversary's table, and the ace from the adver- 
sary's ace point. 

The last three chances are played in this manner because, an 
ace being laid down in the adversary's tables, there is a 
probability of throwing deuce ace, trois deuce, quatre trois, or 
six cinque, in two or three throws, either of which throws 
secures a point and gives the player the best of the hit. 

VI. If it seems inadvisable to spread his pieces, the player 
should try to escape with one or other of his distant men. 

VII. When compelled >o leave a blot, the player should do 
do so where there is the least chance of its being taken by the 
adversary. 

The following table, arranged by Berkeley, it will be seen 
differs somewhat from that of Hoyle, with which the majority 



BACKGAMMON. 31 

of players are familiar. He draws special notice to the error 
in Hoyle's famous table, as also attention to the fact that he 
has added "the last five long ranges," etc.: 

TABLE No. II. 
Giving the odds against being taken up, or hit on any number 
within the reach of single or double dice. 







Approximate 










xtra Odds. 


O 


DDS. 








Range. 


It is 25 to 


11 


Over 


2 to 1 


Against 


being 


hit on 


a One. 


24 to 


12 




2 to 1 


1 k 


. t 


1 1 


Two. 


- 22 to 


14 


About 3 to 2 


tt 


1 1 


1 1 


Three. 


21 to 


15 


it 


4 to 3 


1 1 


1 1 


1 1 


Four. 


21 to 


15 


it 


4 to 3 


tt 


1 1 


1 1 


Five. 


19 to 


17 


tt 


even. 


tt 


tt 


1 1 


Six. 


30 to 


6 




5 tol 


tt 


1 1 


it 


Seven. 


30 to 


6 




5 tol 


tt 


tt 


tt 


Eight. 


31 to 


5 


About 6 tol 


t« 


1 1 


tt 


Nine. 


33 to 


3 




11 tot 


tt 


1 1 


1 1 


Ten. 


34 to 


2 




17 tol 


tt 


t * 


tt 


Eleven. 


33 to 


3 




11 to 1 


1 1 


a 


1 1 


Twelve. 


35 to 


1 




35 to 1 


1 1 


1 1 


1 1 


Fifteen. 


35 to 


1 




35 to 1 


tt 


1 1 


tt 


Sixteen. 


35 to 


1 




35 to 1 


tt 


1 1 


1 1 


Eighteen. 


35 to 


1 




35 to 1 


1 1 


1 1 


1 1 


Twenty. 


35 to 


1 




35 to 1 


tt 


tt 


tt 


Twenty-four. 



VIII. The player must guard against crowding his game at 
any time ; i. e., getting four or five men on any point, but more 
particularly is that to be avoided on the deuce and trois points 
in his home table. 

IX. In entering a man which it is the adversary's advantage 
to hit, the player must have the blot on the lowest point he 
can; for instance, ace point in preference to deuce point, and 
so on, for if the adversary hits him it will crowd the former's 
game, compelling him to play on his low points. N. B. — The 
player must avoid carrying many men on the low points in his 
own table, as these men are out of play, and the board is thus 
left open to the adversary. 

X. It is often good play to take up a blot of an opponent and 
leave one of one's own in its place, if he cannot hit it in return, 
save with double dice — i. e,, by throwing a number over six, as 
the chances are 5 to 1 against his doing so. When playing only 
for a hit, and two of the adversary's men are already up, this 
should be avoided, as it is always a risk, 



32 BACKGAMMON. 

XI. At the beginning of a game or rubber, the player should 
not play for a "back game" — i. e., exposing of blots unneces- 
sarily and otherwise waiting for the adversary to make blots, 
for by this method a great risk is run in the chance of losing a 
gammon in trying to win a hit. 

XII. There are two chief reasons for playing a back game: 
(i) If the adversary has been throwing very high, hence is as 
forward that the other player has no chance of winning a hit 
unless he can obtain a good home table and hit a blot of the 
opponent, then the wisest policy seems to be to leave blots for 
him to take up, and to keep his two men in the adversary's 
table as long as he can. (2) If the player is so hemmed in the 
adversary's table that escape seems hopeless, then, in such a 
position, he should at once leave blots, r s four men securing 
two separate points in the adversary's table, particularly should 
they happen to be his quatre and deuce points. 

From these hints on back play two obvious conclusions may 
be drawn: First, it is best to block the antagonist without 
delay, and thus force him to play a back game, thus to risk a 
gammon or gain a hit; second, a player should never take up, 
unless obliged to, blots purposely left by a skilful antagonist, 
since, if it is good play to leave blots, it cannot be to his 
advantage to take them up. 

XIII. In carrying men home, the player should carry the 
most distant man to the adversary's bar point, next to the six 
point in his own outer table, and, finally, to his own six point 
in his inner table. 

By following this rule as far as the throws admit, it will be 
seen that the men will be carried home in the fewest possible 
number of throws. 

XIV. When one player is bearing his men, and the other 
has two men on a low point in the first one's table and several 
in the outer table, it is well to leave a blot there, thus prevent- 
ing him from bearing his men to the greatest advantage, and 
also gives the second player a chance of hitting him if he leaves 
a blot. If, however, on calculation, the second player finds 



BACKGAMMON. 33 

that he can probably save the gammon by bringing both of his 
men out of the adversary's table, he should wait for a blot. 

XV. When a set, i. e. y three games up o f the best of five, is 
played at backgammon, the odds, according to Berkeley, are 
as follows : 

When A has won I game, B none, it is 3 to 2 on A. 

When A has won 2 games, B none, it is 3 to 1 on A. 

When A has won 2 games and B 1, it is 2 to 1 on A. 

Backgammon offers so many problems regarding the manner 

of meeting its varied throws and intricate calculations, that one 

might continue indefinitely to make suggestions and descant 

on its probabilities, but the foregoing hints will, let us hope, 

meet the general requirements of the game. Practice only 

can make the player thoroughly conversant with its methods. 

In the following 

CALCULATION OF CHANCES, 
as given by Hoyle in the first place, and generally adopted by 
the writers of this day, valuable information will be found : 
On the two dice there are thirty-six chances. In these 

thirty-six chances the points are : 

Points, 

2 Aces 4 

2 Deuces 8 

2 Trois 12 

2 Fours 16 

2 Fives 20 

2 Sixes 25 

6 and 5 twice 22 

6 and 4 twice ..,, 20 

6 and 3 twice 18 

6 and 2 twice ..... 16 

6 and 1 twice 14 

5 and 4 twice .. 18 

5 and 3 twice , 16 

5 and 2 twice 14 

5 and 1 twice 12 

4 and 3 twice 14 

4 and 2 twice 12 

4 and 1 twice 10 

3 and 2 twice 10 

3 and 1 twice 8 

2 and 1 twice 6 

divided by 36)294(8 
38 

6 



34 BACKGAMMON. 

Thus we see that 294 divided by 36 gives 8 and a little more as 
the average throw with two dice. 

The chances upon two dice are calculated as follows : 

2 Sixes 

2 Fives 

2 Fours 

2 Trois 

2 Deuces 

*2 Aces 

6 and 5 twice 2 

6 and 4 twice 2 

6 and 3 twice 2 

6 and 2 twice 2 

*6 and 1 twice 2 

5 and 4 twice 2 

5 and 3 twice 2 

5 and 2 twice 2 

*5 and 1 twice , 2 

4 and 3 twice 2 

4 and 2 twice 2 

*4 and 1 twice 2 

3 and 2 twice 2 

*3 and 1 twice 2 

*2 and 1 twice 2 

36 

In order to find out by this table of thirty-six chances what 
are the odds of being hit upon a certain or flat die, the player 
must consult the following table where marked with an asterisk: 

*2 Aces 1 

*6 and 1 twice 2 

*5 and 1 twice 2 

*4 and 1 twice 2 

*3 and 1 twice 2 

*2 and 1 twice 2 

Total 11 

Which deducted from... 36 
The remainder is 25 

By this calculation it appears it is twenty-five to eleven 
against hitting an ace upon a certain or flat die. 

This method holds good with respect to any other flat die as 
with the ace. For instance, What are the odds of entering a 
man upon the points I, 2, 3, 4 or $ ? 



BACKGAMMON. 



35 



to enter it 

upon For. Against. For. Against. 

1 point is 11 to 25, or about 4 to 9 

2 " 20 " 16 " 5 " 4 

3 " 27 "9 " 3 " 1 

4 " 32 "4 " 8 " 1 

5 " 35 u 1 " 35 " 1 

The following table shows the odds of hitting with any chance 
in the form of a single die : 



TO ENTER 


IT 














UPON 




For. 


A 


GAINST. 






For. Aga 


1 


IS 


11 


to 


25, or 


ab 


out 


4 to 9 


2 




12 


n 


24 


it 




1 " 2 


3 




14 


it 


22 


i< 




2 " 3 


4 




15 


tt 


21 


it 




5 " 7 


5 




15 


(( 


21 


tt 




5 " 7 


6 




17 


n 


19 


tt 




8K" 9 



The following table shows the odds of hitting with double 
dice : 



To hit upon For. Against. 



For. Against. 



i 


is 


6 


to 


30, 


or 


ab 


out 


1 


to 


5 


8 


tt 


6 


tt 


30 




1 1 




1 


tt 


5 


9 


1 1 


5 


t> 


31 




tt 




1 


1 1 


6 


10 


tt 


3 


tt 


33 




tt 




1 


1 1 


11 


11 


tt 


2 


1 1 


34 




it 




1 


1 1 


17 


12 


tt 


1 


tt 


36 




tt 




1 


tt 


36 



The following table is given in order to show the odds of 
hitting upon a six in a table of thirty-six chances : 

Points. 

2 Sixes 1 

2 Trots . . 1 

2 Deuces 1 

6 and 5 twice 2 

6 and 4 twice 2 

6 and 3 twice 2 

6 and 2 twice 2 

6 and 1 twice 2 

5 and 1 twice 2 

4 and 2 twice 2 

17 

Deduct this 17 from 36, the number of chances upon two dice, 
and we have 19. From this table, then, we find that it is 19 to 
17 against being hit upon a six. 

The odds of 2 love is about to 2. 

11 " 2 to 1 " " 2 " 1. 

" •' " 1 love " " 3 " 2. 



36 BACKGAMMON. 

LAWS OF BACKGAMMON. 

FURNISHING THE BOARD. 

1. If a player places his men wrongly, the adversary, before 
he throws a die, may require the board to be properly furnished. 

2. If a player does not place all his men before he throws a 
die, he cannot place those he has omitted.* 

THROWING. 

3. The dice must be thrown in one of the tables. If a die 
jumps from one table to the other, or off the board, or on to 
the bar or frame, the throw is null and void, and the caster 
throws again. 

4. If one die rests on top of the other, or tilts against the 
other, or against a man, or against the bar or frame, the throw 
is null and void, and the caster throws again. 

5. If a die is touched while rolling or spinning on the board, 
the player not in fault may name the number that shall be 
played for that die. 

6. If a die, even when at rest, is touched before the caster 
has called his throw, and the throw is disputed, the player not in 
fault may name the number that shall be played for that die. 

7. The caster must abide by his call if the dice are subse- 
quently touched. 

PLAYING. 

8. If the caster touches one of his own men he must play it, 
unless, prior to touching it, he intimates his intention of ad- 
justing it. If an adverse man, or a man that cannot be played 
is touched, there is no penalty. 

9. A man is not played until it is placed on a point and 
quitted. 

10. The caster must play the whole throw if he can ; in 
bearing, if a mar is played, and another man or the same man 
is then borne from the highest occupied point, the highest 
number thrown is deemed to be borne. 



* It is a disadvantage to play with too few men. 



BACKGAMMON. 



37 



11. If a wrong number of points is played, the adversary 
may require the right number to be played, but he must do so 
before making his next throw. 

BEARING. 

12. If a man is up and others are borne before the one up is 
entered, the men so borne must be entered again, as well as 
the man taken up. 



PROBLEMS ILLUSTRATING THE GAME, 



Taken from Berkeley. 

No. I. 
BLACK, OR B. 




WHITE, OR A. 



38 



BACKGAMMON. 



Suppose the men to be placed as shown in this diagram, who 
has the better game, A or B ? 

A has, because he ought to play, if possible, an ace or deuce 
from B's ace point in order to take possession of B's deuce or 
trois point, or both, as occasion may offer; and, since he is 
already in possession. of B's quatre point, he may easily bring 
these men away, if he finds it necessary, and he will also have 
a resting place by the convenience of that point, which at all 
times during the game will give him an opportunity of running 
for the hit or staying to worry B, if he thinks proper, whereas, 
B cannot so readily come from A's trois point. 

No. II. 
BLACK, OR A. 




WHITE, OR B. 



BACKGAMMON, 



39 



With the men arranged as in preceding diagram, who has the 
better game, A or B ? 

A ; because the ace and trois points in the adversary's table 
are not so good as the ace and deuce points, because when 
bearing his men, the deuce point often saves him from making 
a blot, which is almost certain to happen if the opponent (B) 
has possession of A's ace and deuce points. A should further 
endeavor to be hit as often as possible, to keep his game back- 
ward, and for. the same reason should refrain from hitting any 

blots B makes. 

No. III. 

BLACK, OR A. 




WHITE, OR B. 

Who has the better of the Hit, with the men in position 
shown in above diagram ? 



40 



BACKGAMMON. 



It is anybody's game; but the difficulty lies with B, who in 
the first place should endeavor to gain his cinque and quarter 
points, and when that is effected, he should play two men from 
A's cinque point, in order to oblige A to leave a blot, if he 
should throw an ace. Should B be successful in capturing one 
of A's men he will have the better of the Hit. 



RUSSIAN BACKGAMMON. 

This variety of the game is played with the same implements 
as English Backgammon. 

BLACK. 



Table of Entry. 



■>» Home Table. 



The board is not furnished at starting; but both black and 
white (or red and black) men are entered in the same table — 
by throws of dice— and the march of both sets of draughts is in 
the same direction, viz., from any table chosen — one of the 
minor tables — on which they are entered, through the other 
tables to the home table. 

If the upper right hand — which in this instance would seem 
to answer to black's outer table — then the march of the men is 
as shown on diagram. Again, should the table marked Home 
be chosen, then naturally the march will be in the opposite 
direction. 

A player is not obliged to enter all his men before he plays 



BACKGAMMON. 41 

any, and he may take up blots, even if some of his men have 
not been entered. 

Should a player be taken up, he is obliged to enter the cap- 
tured "man" before playing any other already entered. 

A player who throws doublets is not only entitled to, but 
bound to use (or "play") the doublets thrown, and also the 
complimentary ones, i. e., the corresponding doublets on oppo- 
site faces of the dice. Example: He throws sixes, therefore 
must first play four sixes and then four aces, and in addition 
he has another throw. 

This privilege given to doublets is not, however, allowed 
to either player when he throws his first set of doublets in the 
game. 

No player is permitted to play the " complimentary" doublets 
until he has completely used the doublets thrown, and, further- 
more, he has no right to another throw until he has played 
both sets of doublets- — i. e. y those thrown and the correspond- 
ing ones. 

The privilege is given of allowing the caster of a deuce, ace, 
to choose any doublets he likes on opposite faces of the dice, 
and to throw again. The restriction with regard to first 
doublet's does not apply to deuce, ace, and this throw does 
not count as doublets; hence does not remove the restriction 
regarding first doublets. 

Sometimes, if a player cannot complete his throw, or any 
part of it (whether doublets or not), it is agreed 'that the 
opponent shall play the remainder of it with his own men, mov- 
ing only one at a time. If, however, in so doing the opponent 
leaves a blot which opens a point on which the first player (or 
caster) can play, this latter comes in and continues his play by 
taking up a blot. 

If then, the first player can complete his throw, and has 
thrown doublets, or deuce, or ace, he throws again ; but, if he 
cannot complete it, or if the opponent completes, he may not 
throw again. 

If neither of the players can play any part of, or complete a 



42 BACKGAMMON. 

throw, the remainder of it is lost, and in the case of doublets, 
deuce or ace, the caster (or first named player) does not throw 
again. In other respects, the game is similar to ordinary 
backgammon. 

Owing to the rather complicated nature of this arrangement, 
many players prefer to omit the continuation of play bv the 
opponent as described above, while others again, will not play 
the game at all, remaining steadfast in their allegiance to the 
English variety of the pastime. 

The chief object of this variation, so popular in Russia, 
Germany, and on the Continent generally, is, that the player, 
who has his men in advance, shall hold as many successive 
points as possible, to prevent the opponent from hitting or pas- 
sing the forward men. 



TURKISH BACKGAMMON. 

This variation differs from both the English and Russian 
game, and is considered by many more interesting than either 
of the others. 

The lead is determined as in the other varieties of Back- 
gammon. 

The player who has the lead begins by placing two of his 
men (or pieces) on what would be the first point in the Russian 
game, thus the two points in entering count one, until he has 
fully entered the table. The sixth point extends one beyond, 
until the player is able to move out the two men first placed, 
and this cannot be done until all are in. 

The player cannot cover a point while entering. 

He is not allowed to make a point beyond the twelfth point 
until that is covered, and none this side (inner table) until he 
has fully entered all his men. After this he advances much as 
he would in the Russian variation. 

The player who throws doublets can use, not only the doub- 
lets thrown, but also the corresponding doublets on the oppo- 
site side of the dice. This, however, is not obligatory, as in 



BACKGAMMON. 43 

the Russian variety, and therefore is not always done, as, prior 
to beginning of the game, the players agree often to use (count) 
only the face value of the doublets. This makes the game 
more equal. 

The player, after covering the twelfth point, may come into 
the opponent's table, pointing there and interrupting his 
entrance. 

After moving out the first two placed in his table, the player 
goes back to the Russian, counting first point one up to the sixth. 

The game will be found very intricate, hence more absorb- 
ing, as it proceeds; the player is frequently misled into believ- 
ing that he has the advantage, when, suddenly, he discovers 
that he is beaten. 

In the foregoing pages, it has been out of the question, of 
course, to illustrate extensively, either by word or drawings, 
the ever-varying probabilities of the game, which a thorough 
study of the subject suggests. 

It is hoped, however, that both historically and technically, 
this condensed treatise has so clearly outlined the various 
phases of Backgammon, as to be perfectly comprehensible to 
the student, and that it will, furthermore, prove of sufficiennt 
interest, to incite him to a more profound investigation of the 
same. 

OPINIONS AND AXIOMS. 

"It is only persons of consequence who play at backgammon, 
and those only who are the most quick witted, ready and 
watchful can ever thoroughly master it," says an old French 
writer. 

11 Even whist has not escaped defilement; but backgammon 
was never a vulgar game; never beloved by lackeys." 

A Sanskrit riddle, apropos of an ancient form of backgammon: 
"Ina house where there were many, there is left but one, and 
where there was none, and many came, at last, there was none. 
Thus Kala and Kali, casting day and night on a pair of dice, 
play with human pieces on the board of the world." 






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